Sudden Death
2 Samuel 6 contains a challenging passage for the casual Bible observer.
2 Samuel 6:2–3 (ESV) And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,
What looks to be the most honorable gesture in David's early reign - to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel - turns out to be deadly and confusing. Moments into the transport of this holy vessel this happens:
2 Samuel 6:5–7 (ESV) And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
2 Samuel 6:2–3 (ESV) And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,
What looks to be the most honorable gesture in David's early reign - to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel - turns out to be deadly and confusing. Moments into the transport of this holy vessel this happens:
2 Samuel 6:5–7 (ESV) And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
Notice the scene. David and Israel are rejoicing. They are worshipping. The whole moment looks glorious. Even Uzzah's hand to steady the Ark when the oxen stumbled seems reverent. He doesn't want the Ark to be damaged. YET it is this act in the middle of this scene where God severely and judges Uzzah with death. The question is, why? Was God having a bad day? No. There's a lesson for us today if we are ready to receive it.
We have to go back to when the Ark was taken in the first place by the Philistines. Back in Israel's troubled days before Samuel's lead, the Ark was lost to Israel's famous enemies. Then famously, the Ark's presence causes turmoil for the Philistines and they are forced to return it. When they return it, they set it on a cart pulled by two milk cows. This was superstitious action on the Philistines' part because they were ignorant of what they had.
See what Israel does here in bringing up the Ark? They copied the Philistines' methods of delivery. According to the Law, only the Kohathite family of priests were to carry the Ark (Numbers 4). Israel assumes the standards of the neighboring nations for transport and when their imaginations failed, Uzzah felt responsible to stead the Ark.
This provides a picture of worship for us today. What you have here is a casual approach to the Holy God of Israel. Uzzah's death is troubling to us and it should be. It reminds us that the Lord God of heaven is NOT a "god" of our own imaginations. In fact, this story is one of the great proofs of the Holy Scripture's inspiration. When Peter says, "no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21) you believe him! No man would EVER make this story up. David would have received the ark with no problem and his nation would be heralded glorious as the Ark came to Jerusalem without incident. That is how we would tell it. But the Holy Spirit makes clear to point out David's and the Nation's disrespect because it HAPPENED.
See what Israel does here in bringing up the Ark? They copied the Philistines' methods of delivery. According to the Law, only the Kohathite family of priests were to carry the Ark (Numbers 4). Israel assumes the standards of the neighboring nations for transport and when their imaginations failed, Uzzah felt responsible to stead the Ark.
This provides a picture of worship for us today. What you have here is a casual approach to the Holy God of Israel. Uzzah's death is troubling to us and it should be. It reminds us that the Lord God of heaven is NOT a "god" of our own imaginations. In fact, this story is one of the great proofs of the Holy Scripture's inspiration. When Peter says, "no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21) you believe him! No man would EVER make this story up. David would have received the ark with no problem and his nation would be heralded glorious as the Ark came to Jerusalem without incident. That is how we would tell it. But the Holy Spirit makes clear to point out David's and the Nation's disrespect because it HAPPENED.
Notice that David names the place: "Perez-Uzzah". The prefix "Perez" was used of David's conquest over the Philistines in the previous passage meaning, "break out". Only this time God has broken out against one of Israel's sons. The repetition is deliberate here. God is not Israel's carefully crafted diety of their own making. He is the holy God of all men.
The holiness of God is a troubling and difficult doctrine underscored by stories like this. Yet, the holiness of God is what MAKES Him God. He is above us and beyond us. We are finite and misunderstand His ways. Of course we do! We did not make Him up! If you serve a "god" who always agrees with you, that "god" is most likely you! Be very careful of this ideal. It's permeating the world and has been since creation.
The way forward in your relationship to God is to surrender what you think He should be. Sometimes, He will have to SHOCK you out of your ignorance. When it happens, your response makes all the difference. We will see how David responded in the next post.
Comments
Post a Comment